Beer at Ribfest on DuPage Fairgrounds: City says OK. Now organizers ask county for help.

Get out the grills, don't forget the napkins, keep the beer pouring, and you've got the makings of Ribfest 2023.

All the ingredients are starting to come together for a three-day barbecue bash at the DuPage County Fairgrounds this September.

After keeping event details under wraps for months, organizers just announced '90s hitmakers Third Eye Blind will headline the opening night of Ribfest on Friday, Sept. 15.

Organizers have now secured a liquor license from the city of Wheaton to serve beer, wine and seltzer drinks during the festival.

The Exchange Club of Naperville, the civic group in charge of Ribfest, expects this year's event will draw 15,000 to 20,000 patrons per day.

Pitmasters on the competitive barbecue circuit will tend to the open flames and ribbers' booths along the grandstands on the fairgrounds.

"The layout of the grounds is the same. The carnival, the kid's area, all of that remains the same," Jim McGuire, executive manager of the county fair association, recently told Wheaton liquor commissioners.

Ribfest traditionally saluted the Fourth of July in Naperville with big-name concerts and fireworks. Renovations to Knoch Park forced organizers to look for another venue in 2019.

After a pandemic pause, the Exchange Club relaunched Ribfest with a scaled-back event during Father's Day weekend. But it dealt with a last-minute cancellation from one of the 2022 headliners. Country singer Toby Keith scrapped his opening night concert after disclosing he had been undergoing treatment for stomach cancer.

Organizers considered holding the event again in June.

"Originally, they were supposed to be with us on Father's Day weekend," McGuire said. "They were a little hesitant after the effects of losing Toby Keith at such a late notice last year, so they held off a little bit. They were a little gun-shy getting going, but they are bringing it back."

Instead of a Father's Day weekend cookout, Ribfest will return as the school year gets underway.

To help offset marketing and other fest costs, organizers sought $100,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding from DuPage County. With a new date and location, fest organizers said they need to get the word out.

"We need to market this event," said Diane Simmons, an Exchange Club volunteer. "The more money we could spend on marketing, the more people that will come to the event."

Members of the county board's finance committee Tuesday pared that request down to $25,000, saying the initial ask was too much.

"We've got little festivals in all of our towns; what's to stop them from coming in and wanting something?" said DuPage County Board member Grant Eckhoff, a Wheaton Republican.

The board is expected to vote on the $25,000 grant later this month.

The Exchange Club hosts Ribfest to raise money for charities supporting survivors of child abuse and domestic violence. They've given more than $18 million over the last 32 years to those causes.

Last year was the first year of a revival at the fairgrounds.

"We had a really good first-year event, but not as good as we wanted to," Simmons said.

Sunday was the busiest day, McGuire said. "It worked well, and we're happy to have them back with us," he said.

In Naperville, a fleet of shuttle buses ran to and from the festival. Crowds have more convenient, on-site parking options at the fairgrounds.

"We had no issues last year with our event. Parking worked out well," McGuire said.

Concerts were staged closer to Graf Park last year. Organizers this year won't be installing skybox seating. McGuire said fans will see concerts from a "more comfortable" area: a lawn near a community garden on the west side of the fairgrounds.

"It's about the same size footprint," McGuire said. "We have more trees, more landscaping."

The anticipated festival hours are Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. There will be two locations early in the day selling beer, wine and seltzer drinks, and three more will open at 4 p.m. to service the concert venue.

• Daily Herald staff writer Alicia Fabbre contributed to this report